Kumari woke up early the following day, although his body struggled to remain a few more hours in his bed. The meeting with Sesshomaru held him until late night, and the morning’s weather was not at all encouraging, with the sun hiding behind heavy clouds, as a very thin and cold rain dropped in his lands. Still, there was lots of work to be done.
He left the castle’s gates and returned to the work that Oda’s arrival had interrupted on the previous day. From far away he saw the axe next to the tree that he had been cutting down. The castle needed firewood, especially with the arrival of so many visitors, and there were not enough servants to handle all the tasks. All of the men had been put in the militia, and the women were overwhelmed by the effort of maintaining the castle. Even if he had to skip the looks of everyone, Kumari would do anything to take care of his fief.
He pulled his sleeves up to the shoulders and tied them behind his back. However, when he reached his axe, he noticed it wasn’t on the same place he had left it. And it was bloodstained. He looked around, wondering what was happening, until he heard a hasty breath.
“Soji!”, he yelled, worried, but without noticing the angry tone in his voice.
The boy showed up from behind a tree, crying, his left hand covered in blood.
“I’m sorry, my lord, I… saw that you were busy with the guests, and I only meant to help.”
“What did you do?” Kumari knelt down and took his hand.
“I tried to cut down this tree, but the axe got stuck in the wood. I fell on my back when I finally pulled it out, but it fell over me…”
Kumari took a deep breath, trying to contain his anger. He caught himself clenching a fist, but his hand touched the boy’s head gently.
“How many times did I say that you’re too small to handle the axe? Listen”, he wiped the boy’s tears, “if you want to help, I need you to do something for me. But you must promise to keep it a secret!” Soji assented, and smiled again as Kumari whispered something is his ear. “But first, you’ll ask one the maids to take care of this cut.”
The young noble watched as the boy ran back to the castle. It was then he saw that someone had wakened up early, too.
